The best form of self-care is monitoring what I put into my body and my mind. I can’t be in a healthy, happy place either physically or mentally unless I curate my inputs, eliminating unhealthy things and emphasizing the healthy/happy things. That’s never been more important than it is now, with the future so uncertain and my regular routines and habits untethered from my day.

For the past two days I’ve been walking around with two lists in my head, tagging all of my inputs as “helpful” or “unhelpful.”

Helpful Inputs for Physical Health

• Foods: vegetables, lean proteins. Also timing: mostly in the early parts of the day, fruit between meals.
• Water
• Coffee (I’m up to three cups a day and I think that’s JUST FINE. They’re not full cups.)
• Walking anywhere, but my favorite is on my street, where the hill makes my heart rate climb, especially when I’m pushing Eleanor in the stroller (an extra 50 lbs total!)
• Elliptical in our basement (so grateful for that), hand weights, exercise ball
• Yoga/stretching
• Naps
• Sunshine, as much as I can get

Helpful Inputs for Mental Health

• Reading real books
• Talking to my family and friends on the phone, FaceTime and occasionally a social-distance walk
• Hugging my children and my husband
• Meditation
• Writing, especially journaling
• Watching comedy (like Schitt’s Creek and my re-watch of The Office)
• Washing dishes and de-cluttering
• Donating to causes that will help people in my community
• Helping Edwin learn something new
• Playing with Eleanor
• Joking with my husband
• Dreaming about future trips and vacations
• Praying*
• Giving myself and others as much grace as possible

Unhelpful Inputs (AVOID)

• Sugar and baked goods**
• Reading the news
• Facebook and Twitter***
• Dystopian novels
• Thinking about what I’d be doing if not for COVID-19
• Telling myself I “should” be doing something

*I don’t typically pray much. However, I’ve been finding that a nightly prayer with my daughter has been useful for voicing my fears in a child-appropriate way– which makes them sound less scary– and voicing my gratitude for all the gifts we have. I don’t know where that prayer is going, but it’s helping me. (My parents will be very happy to read this, as they are big on prayer.)

**Baking and baked goods are helpful in moderation, on certain days of the week, and at certain times. I really look forward to my Saturday treats. But I do have to confine them to specific blocks of time, or I will over-consume. (Me and sugar: It’s complicated.)

***I log in once or twice a day to reply to messages and alerts. When I post at other times, it’s via Hootsuite. I will ALWAYS reply to your messages because those are helpful inputs! I just have to avoid mindless scrolling and scary articles.

Tell me some of your helpful and unhelpful inputs. Let’s borrow from each other!